Subject: Emotion

The grim reality of industrial animal farming

Eurogroup for Animals

Published in 2023

Report summarizing the main welfare problems faced by broilers, fish, pigs, dairy cows and rabbits in intensive farming and the main shortcomings of current European legislation in this respect.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Pain, Societal issues, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Innovation across 13 ungulate species: problem solvers are less integrated in the social group and less neophobic

Alvaro L. Caicoya, Alina Schaffer, Ruben Holland, Lorenzo von Fersen, Montserrat Colell, Federica Amici

Published in 2023

Scientific paper on the problem-solving abilities of 13 ungulate species. Using a foraging task, it tests whether individual factors (neophobia, social integration, sex, age, status) and socio-ecological factors (dietary range, fission-fusion dynamics, domestication, group size) are predictors of participation and performance in the task.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Ruminants

Keywords:Learning, training, Brain integration, Cognitive processeses

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Détenir correctement les poules – Un enclos approprié, une alimentation adaptée, des conseils santé pratiques

Federal Department of Home Affairs, Swiss Confederation

Published in 2023

Leaflet for the use of private chicken owners in Switzerland. It provides information on the regulations, and on hens' physiological and behavioral needs in terms of improving their  health and welfare.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Welfare indicators

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Development of a data-driven method for assessing health and welfare in the most common livestock species in Switzerland: The Smart Animal Health project

Beat Thomann, Hanno Würbel, Tahibault Kuntzer, Christina Umstätter, Beat Wechsler, Mireille Meylan, Gertraud Schüpbach-Regula

Published in 2023

Article describing how a method was developed to assess health and welfare on individual Swiss livestock farms using information from agricultural databases and supervised machine learning. This method made it possible to score the animal health and welfar management performance of farms in a way comparable to on-farm assessment by trained staff.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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Welfare of calves

Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortazar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

EFSA opinion identifying fifteen highly relevant negative welfare consequences, the most common being respiratory disorders, inability to engage in exploratory or foraging behavior, gastroenteric disorders and group stress. It recommends a space provision of at least 3m2 per calf, keeping the calf with its mother for a minimum of 24 hours, after which calves should be kept in stable groups and soft bedding should be provided.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal adaptation, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system, Societal issues

EU POSITIVE LIST - A proposal to regulate the trade in animals destined for life as a pet

Eurogroup for Animals

Published in 2023

A white paper that presents a framework that is feasible in legal terms for a positive list of exotic animal species that could be  legally traded and/or kept as pets. This list takes into account animal welfare, public health, and Adaptation of the animal to the environment conservation.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Societal issues, Animal population management, Living environment, Human-animal relationships

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Advancing the quantitative characterization of farm animal welfare

Harriet Bartlett, Andrew Balmford, Mark A. Holmes, James L. N. Wood

Published in 2023

Paper developing welfare indicators for use in life cycle assessment (LCA) and different ways of aggregating them, then testing them on British pig farms. It shows that farms in the same LCA class have the same types of quality labels, and that the details of the way in which LCA welfare measures are established have little impact on the classification of farms based on their welfare levels.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Environment, Welfare indicators, Living environment

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La sensibilité animale – Approches juridiques et enjeux transdisciplinaires

Under the direction of Aloïse Quesne

Published in 2023

Book discussing the consequences of the failure to define animal sentience in the French Civil Code, which states only that "animals are living beings endowed with sentience". The book explores the legal consequences of recognising animal sentience, the possibility of differences in sentience between species, and how to improve legal protections for such sentience.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Societal issues, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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The Impact of the Social Determinants of Human Health on Companion Animal Welfare

Sonya McDowall, Susan J. Hazel, Catherine Chittleborough, Anne Hamilton-Bruce, Rwth Stuckey, Tiffani J. Howell

Published in 2023

Review of the impacts of the social determinants of pet owners' health (ie the social, physical, and economic factors that impact human health)  on their pets' welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Canines, Felines, Exotic pets

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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Welfare issues in broiler chickens: overview

Brian Tainika, Ahmet Şekeroğlu, Ahmet Akyo, Zacharia Waithaka Ng'ang'a

Published in 2023

Publication reviewing the main factors contributing to poor welfare in broiler chickens, their sources, how to mitigate them, and farm management methods that can promote welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Fear, Stress, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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